I walked over to the bar and poured myself a stiff drink.
Chapter Fourteen
Francesca
I stared at my phone. Daniel was texting me again. He was angry. I'd expected that. I hadn't expected him to come after me.
Most men would just give up and move on to the next thing.
I was quite familiar with that pattern unfortunately.
Daniel seemed to be a different breed all together. He was determined. That much was obvious. He also seemed to want something more than a fling. That was not going to happen. I'd gotten what I wanted. He had gotten what he wanted too. That was just going to have to be good enough for him.
I frowned, staring out the window.
My phone beeped again and I glanced down.
I'm going to take my time with you next time.
Another ping.
I want to put my mouth on you.
I swallowed nervously. Ping.
You are going to beg me to let you come.
A shiver ran down my spine and I squirmed in my seat. He had done that to me yesterday, using his tongue and fingers to make me come. I'd loved it. No one had ever been that... thorough before.
I shook my head. No matter. I wasn't getting involved, even if there were some delightfully naughty benefits. I belonged to no man. I could sense that Daniel wanted to own me.
Possess me.
And I needed to protect my heart. My heart and my dignity. My pride was badly hurt by everything that had happened back home. I could not put myself through that again.
Better to be alone, no matter how tempting my dirty cowboy was.
Whether he stuck around after was a moot point. I wasn't going to beg him. I wasn't going to even get close enough for him to try and temp me again with his good looks and charm.
Or his sheer animal magnetism. He had more than his fair share of that. It was too bad... he was almost worth risking my heart again.
Almost.
I sighed, leaning back. I would treat myself to a nice spa day. Maybe two spa days. Maybe a week.
The only trouble with that was controlling my own mind. My own desires. If I was going to truly relax I needed to erase him completely.
I closed my eyes and focused. I could put Daniel into a locked box with all the other things I wanted to forget. I would not think about him again.
Not until I came to collect my horse.
I opened my eyes.
He was in the box.
I just hoped he would stay there.
Forty minutes later I was checked into the Starline Hotel. It was five stars of course, but newer, younger. I doubted he would find me here. Supposedly it catered to a European crowd.
I glanced around the lobby at the oversized doll heads.
A hipster hotel.
I sighed and went up to my room. I could always change hotels tomorrow...
The suite was enormous and sterile white. Bright neon colors were scattered here and there about the room. A strange shaped chair sat by the window. I frowned. Not relaxing. Or luxurious.
This would not do at all.
I picked up my phone and called the oldest and finest hotel in Nashville. Then I checked out of the Starline. As I climbed back into my limo I heard my phone ring again.
I was sure it was Daniel.
It was not. I sighed and answered it. I knew he would not stop calling if I did not.
"What do you want, Philipe?"
Chapter Fifteen
Daniel
I tilted my head back, letting the heavy bourbon slip down my throat. It had been hours since Francesca ran out on me. It was clear by now that she was not coming back on her own. I'd already hired a private detective from the west coast. His name was Cain and he had ties to the underworld and the Untouchables MC. He had a hacker on staff that could find anyone and anything. Now all I had to do was sit back and wait.
I hated waiting.
Especially when I could still feel her body beneath my hands. Her lips. Her... everything.
I groaned.
"Still up?"
Jake stood in the doorway to the study, a crooked smile on his lips.
"Jake, come here brother. How was LA?"
I forced myself to stand and hug my younger brother. He'd been gone for years after graduating military school, always so wild and unpredictable. Now look at us. I was drunk and wallowing and he was the sober one, with a fiancé to boot.
"Whoa, man, you reek."
I slumped back into my seat.
"Want one?"
He nodded and I poured us each a glass of bourbon. A big glass. Jake said nothing, but his eyebrow went up. At least he was less judgmental than Jackson. We clinked glasses and sipped.
Well, he sipped.
I slugged.
"What's going on, Daniel?"
I scowled.
"I don't want to talk about her."
“Of course it’s a woman. About time” Jake said with a laugh. "What's her name?"